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sjgochenour's review against another edition
4.0
Actually recommended to me by multiple podcasts! This was A Good Book Written Specifically For Me, as a lot of it is about being sort of fundamentally dysfunctional and ways one learns to keep moving forward.
The missing star is because I would have liked more specific essays about "here is how I am creatively productive when I feel like a Trash Person Made of Trash," and because I did find it a bit scattershot, but. It is good. You should read it. You will feel better and it won't take you very long.
The missing star is because I would have liked more specific essays about "here is how I am creatively productive when I feel like a Trash Person Made of Trash," and because I did find it a bit scattershot, but. It is good. You should read it. You will feel better and it won't take you very long.
bmski49's review against another edition
3.0
This was definitely different than I anticipated. I don't know how I feel about it, but it has motivated me to want to write my own essays & blogs.
allyvari's review against another edition
4.0
An acquaintance who writes the niftiest yet realest of Email Newsletters about dramaturgy, writing, and simply being a human in this world recommended this book to me. There's something about Benincasa's writing that feels essentially human to the reader. Instead of being a stuffy self-help book that assumes superhero status declaring "this is how to live your best life" or "you too can be like me," Benincasa offers us more by bringing us through the real, dark, and even sometimes dirty or gritty realities of this life (with humor, of course) to her hard-earned wisdom and whimsy. A professor once told me the most precious thing you can offer as an artist is your own lived experience, and this book does just that. The perfect post-college book, but I can also see myself revisiting in my thirties, forties, or whenever I seek the witty, offbeat, relatable charms of her essays.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
A total win from beginning to end. All 52 of these essays are a combination of funny, sad, hopeful, and heartbreaking for different reasons. Each is approachable, thought-provoking, and really relatable. Benincasa balances serious stuff with the more fun, but even in those fun essays, there's a big old piece of wisdom to walk away with.
Put this one on the shelf next to [b:You Don't Have to Like Me: Essays on Growing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Feminism|24611657|You Don't Have to Like Me Essays on Growing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Feminism|Alida Nugent|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436343235s/24611657.jpg|44222802] for ladies who want to read a collection of essays that are humorous and feminist and full of eagerness to learn, grow, and explore. Probably perfect for those 20-somethings trying to feel their way into the world, as well as more mature readers who need some more love along the way (or want to feel like they get it because they're right there with Benincasa).
Some key takeaways: masturbate, enjoy rainbows, mental illness sucks, writer fan letters to people whose work you love, you're an artist if you think you're an artist, having kids or getting married doesn't make you an adult, tell people what you want and that you deserve it (outside the bedroom and inside it, too), make art like a little kid (just play because you want to play!), breath work is great, taking walks without a purpose except to move is excellent, ask people more questions, fire people from your life who don't deserve to be there, you don't have to like everyone, and the one I'm going to do now, which is look up FULL CATASTROPHE LIVING by Jon Kabat-Zinn. That last one will make a lot of sense to people who read this book.
Put this one on the shelf next to [b:You Don't Have to Like Me: Essays on Growing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Feminism|24611657|You Don't Have to Like Me Essays on Growing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding Feminism|Alida Nugent|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436343235s/24611657.jpg|44222802] for ladies who want to read a collection of essays that are humorous and feminist and full of eagerness to learn, grow, and explore. Probably perfect for those 20-somethings trying to feel their way into the world, as well as more mature readers who need some more love along the way (or want to feel like they get it because they're right there with Benincasa).
Some key takeaways: masturbate, enjoy rainbows, mental illness sucks, writer fan letters to people whose work you love, you're an artist if you think you're an artist, having kids or getting married doesn't make you an adult, tell people what you want and that you deserve it (outside the bedroom and inside it, too), make art like a little kid (just play because you want to play!), breath work is great, taking walks without a purpose except to move is excellent, ask people more questions, fire people from your life who don't deserve to be there, you don't have to like everyone, and the one I'm going to do now, which is look up FULL CATASTROPHE LIVING by Jon Kabat-Zinn. That last one will make a lot of sense to people who read this book.
mrsnagappala's review against another edition
5.0
This book is just fun, from start to finish. I was unfamiliar with Sara Benincasa before reading this and now I think she's amazing. For someone who suffers from at-times-pretty-severe mental illness, she's able to put a remarkably positive spin on most things - or, at least a humorous spin - and not in an annoying way. I wish she was my friend!
angelcwrites's review against another edition
5.0
I needed this book. Most everyone I know probably needs this book. Read this book.
hedytf's review against another edition
5.0
Likeable memoir/advice book that skips over the perfect in favor of the real.
poetkoala's review against another edition
5.0
This book speaks to the heart and soul of the twenty something experience. But you know, scratch that. This book speaks to the soul of HUMANS. Sara Benincasa is brave, eloquent, and downright hilarious. Hands down, she joins the ranks of my heroes.
charitytinnin's review against another edition
3.0
2.5-3 stars. Like many essay collections, some were great, some okay, and some I skimmed in their entirety.